Day 15 Rome to Cinque Terre

A long long day, having left Rome by taxi at 8 30 for the Rome train station and then travelling by two trains to Vernazza- 5 hours. A long boring ride which after a delay half way along , took an hour longer than it should have. Arriving in Vernazza which is one of 5 historic fishing villages in Tuscany, was like arriving in another world between the sight of the village itself, the number of people on the street and the 40 high stone steps ( see photo) we climbed to get up to the accommodation only to find a note on the door asking us the phone the manager. Not able to make the call David went back down in search of help and returned 20 minutes later to say she had double booked our room and arranged somewhere else for us to stay. Well back down the stairs, more help from another lovely girl working in a bar and new accomodation located- up another very steep interior staircase! Bugger that-I asked a young guy and two girls to carry them up. Didn’t feel too bad as the girl said she worked out!!!! Anyway rewarded with excellent shower, yet another small room and wifi. The shops and bars are outside our front door and continue down to the water where there are more restaurants, people swimming and crowds wandering about. The 28 degree afternoon is such a relief too after Rome. For such a small area of land there are 100s of people. The photos do not do justice to the way the buildings have all been stacked on top of one another and the height of the buildings. Everything seems old and everything is aimed at getting tourists in. The train itself is also at the end of the street and leaves for the next village through a tunnel. Tourists have the option of walking, ferrying or going by train from village to village. It has been an exhausting day and will now try and get some sleep regardless of the noise from the street below and the fan in our room and the train zooming past. A beautiful place to be though and we look forward to exploring the 4 other villages tomorrow.Read more